“If a woman could come just from being looked at, I’m pretty sure I’d be screaming your name right now.”

He locked his gaze to hers. “You will be soon enough.” (p. 79)

Tuesday is just starting to stand on solid ground after the death of her husband five years ago. Ezra is a member of Sweet Hollow Ranch, one of the most famous rock bands in existence. This just means that his spectacular fall from grace due to drug addiction was a very public one. Now he’s been clean for years and lives a simple life. He’s a rancher on his family’s ranch, he helps with the band behind the scenes and spends time with his extended family. When they meet each other their attraction is instant. Then it’s just a matter of two people healing from past wounds try to find their way together.

I love, love, love low conflict romance, and this one is definitely low conflict. However, the first half of the story was even a little slow for me. That seemed pretty intentional, and it definitely fit with these two wounded characters, but it took me a while to get invested. About half way through the issues these two had were clear and I didn’t want to set my reader down!

As always, Lauren Dane writes incredibly good and hot sex scenes. Tuesday is confident in her self and her body and in her enjoyment of sex. Ezra also knows what he likes. At the beginning of their relationship they have to figure out if they’re going to fit together sexually. That’s something you don’t normally see.

In your typical romance you have one partner mention they like to be in control and the response by the other partner is generally excitement and agreement with this power dynamic with no questions. With Tuesday and Ezra it’s more complicated and more realistic. Ezra admits he likes control and Tuesday thinks to herself,

“Sex with him? Yes. Yes and yes again. Control, though? What did that mean? Like something creepy? Or something hot? Sometimes people inexplicably found stuff like cell phone tracking and that sort of control to be superhot. She was not one of them.” (p.31)

And then they go on to have an actual conversation about what they want from their sexual relationship. How cool is that?

I also want to mention that Tuesday is African American and Ezra is white. Their race is a factor in their relationship, but not a huge one. I liked that it was acknowledged, but not the defining conflict in the story.

I really enjoyed Broken Open, despite its slow start. I’ve read this series in order, including the series that came before it, but I think this one would stand on its own just fine. In fact, I think having read the previous book actually worked against me in this case. This story overlaps a bit with the story before it and it left me a little disoriented because it had been a while since I’d read the previous one. It was still a great read. It wasn’t my favorite book in this series of series, but it was another solid entry. I’d recommend it for anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, rock stars, strong women, hot sex, and internal conflict.

If you thought you couldn’t have both, which of the following would you choose?

1.) Stay with your struggling musician first love?

or

2.)Go on to college and get a degree to provide financial stability?

Lanie Vance chose the second. It broke her boyfriend’s heart and her in the process. Now four years later she’s a marketing intern being given her first big chance and her past just slapped her in the face.Her assignment is to secure her firm to do the marketing for the rock band, Black Falcon’s favorite charity. Noel Falcon, the band’s front man, is the man whose heart she broke.

Noel can’t believe it when he looks down into the crowd at one of his concerts and sees Lanie. He’s never stopped loving her but tried to move on by excessive drinking and man-whoring. But none of that could erase Lanie from his memory. He doesn’t handle seeing her very well. He dedicates the song Ball Busting Bitch to her on stage and later, when she comes to see him about the charity, he has two topless blondes on his lap.

Noel is a really good guy. Almost too good for my tastes but he loves himself some Lanie. To have the chance to reconnect with her is like a second lease at life for him. Lanie has always worried about her place in Noel’s world. As secrets and insecurities threaten to tear them apart again, you see two people who never stopped loving each other get their much deserved second chance.

This book has been sitting on my Kindle TBR list for a long time. I’d see it and think, Yeah I need to read that and then promptly forget about it. Now I could kick myself because I waited so long. This is a good book with second chance love and steamy sex. It reads easily and captures your heart.

Lucas is a rock star and he and Sienna have a troubled past. He threw her out of his house when she wouldn’t submit and then he ended up buying her Grandma’s house that was in foreclosure. That led to Sienna signing a contract to work for him for an appointed amount of time and then he’d sign the house over to her. She did this but then he freaked out about his ex-wife and dismissed her.

Now, he’s back and begs for Sienna to take him back bascially. She’s gunshy but she is in love with him. Head over heels in love. His ex is still causing trouble, malicious trouble but Sienna keeps it from Lucas because he’s on tour and she doesn’t want him disturbed. There were a lot of obstacles for this couple to overcome: the band, the tour, Cilla, Tyler and Sam (the ex).

I really liked this book even with the wait. I hope she writes about the rest of the band. I know she’s written about Kylie and Wyatt. When I first read this series early last year, it just spoke to me. I loved everything about it. The chemsitry, hot sex scenes and believable emotions. I fell in love with Lucas Wolfe for two reasons:

1.) He played Britney Spears for her on his guitar. He’s a heavy metal guy but Sienna likes Britney.

2.) He says this to her- “I could have the shittiest day and then come within a hundred feet of you, and the only thing that matters is you.”